After carving names in tables, customers buy new ones for pizzeria

The Choe family and friends stand in front of the newly replaced tables at Two Brothers Pizza in Fountain Valley. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Steve Lynn (left) and Mike Ruffino (right) have been going to Two Brothers Pizza since they were in second grade. During the weekend before Christmas, they coordinated with friends and staffers of the business to replace the worn out tables with brand-new ones. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Owner of Two Brothers Pizza John Choe was surprised by two long time customers, Steve Lynn and Mike Ruffino, with brand-new table tops for his Fountain Valley restaurant. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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New tables decorated John Choe's restaurant, Two Brothers Pizza. The change was spearheaded by Steve Lynn and Mike Ruffino, two long-time customers. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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New tables decorated John Choe's restaurant, Two Brothers Pizza. The change was spearheaded by Steve Lynn and Mike Ruffino, two long-time customers. ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A small plaque brought by Steve Lynn and Mike Ruffino reading out "Christmas 2012 / Respect the Bros / Carve Only - No Ink". ISAAC ARJONILLA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

For nearly 20 years, Fountain Valley youth have been carving their names into the wooden tabletops of a popular pizzeria.

It's been a rite of passage for those growing up in this quiet community.

A new era, though, began Dec. 23, when a group of longtime customers surprised the owners of Two Brothers pizza with six pristine tabletops.

The goal: to let the carving begin anew.

"It's one of those things where we've been going there for 20 years and we've treated it like our second home," said Steve Lynn, 28, one of a dozen friends to purchase the new tables for owner John Choe. "We were thinking, 'How cool would it be to get them new tables?' (But) we kept the tables wood, because I would kind of expect them to be carved into again."

Two Brothers has been on the northeast corner of Brookhurst Street and Garfield Avenue for about 30 years. Choe, 57, took over in 1994.

His eldest daughter, 26-year-old Ann Choe, described cooking as her father's passion. "He wanted to do what he enjoyed," she said.

But with John Choe in the kitchen baking the pies, his young customers began surreptitiously engraving their names into the tables.

"I'd go to the back and they'd carve the tables," he said with a shrug.

Soon, it became a tradition. Lynn and his best friend, 29-year-old Mike Ruffino, were among those who carved their names into the tables – multiple times. Eventually, the tabletops became a hodgepodge of juvenile self-tributes.

The long-hewed tables had been through enough. So Lynn and Ruffino spearheaded the effort to show their appreciation to this mom-and-pop pizzeria.

Lynn, Ruffino and 10 other longtime friends rustled up $600 for the six new tables and, in cahoots with Ann and her boyfriend Ben Smith, 28, replaced the tables on the morning of Dec. 23. Ann then called her parents to come to the restaurant.

Choe and wife Chong Woo, 50, walked in and were stunned as more than a dozen people applauded and yelled, "Surprise!"

"It was awesome," Ruffino said of the table unveiling. "I had a big stupid grin on my face the entire time. I felt like we did an actual good Christmas deed."

For his part, John Choe was "speechless," Lynn said.

The next day, though, when the friends went to Two Brothers for lunch, the pizza was on the house and Choe gave them a thank you card.

"I am so thankful for them," John Choe said. "They make me want to return the favor by doing something for the community."

Several of the old tables will become keepsakes for Lynn and Ruffino, but they plan on mounting at least one on the wall of Two Brothers. The duo will also install plaques on each table that read: "Christmas 2012. Respect the Bros. Carve only – no ink."

The tradition, it seems, will continue.

"If I turn my back and (the kids) carve their names, good," Choe said.

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